


Top Surgery

by Quinnion



Series: Levi's Café [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Body Dysphoria, Crying, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mostly fluff though, One Shot, Self-Esteem Issues, Trans Male Character, top surgery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-15 19:50:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5797573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinnion/pseuds/Quinnion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi’s been dating Eren for long enough to be able to read him perfectly. It’s not unusual for him to come home from work and find Eren crying, curling up on their couch or in their bed. The first time it happened he didn’t know how to react, he sat down next to Eren and held him until he calmed down. Levi tries to figure out why Eren is so distressed and helps him as best as he can.</p><p>(This is a short sequel to Levi's Café, they're part of the same series. You don't need to read Levi's Café to understand what's going on in this fic but I do suggest you read it.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Top Surgery

Levi’s been dating Eren for long enough to be able to read him perfectly. It’s not unusual for him to come home from work and find Eren crying, curling up on their couch or in their bed. The first time it happened he didn’t know how to react: he sat down next to Eren and held him until he calmed down. Any attempts to talk were rejected by Eren, so Levi stopped trying and simply decided to just be there for him.

A couple of weeks ago Levi finally figured out what was wrong. He had walked in on Eren staring at himself] in their full body mirror, naked and tears in his eyes. Eren screamed when he noticed Levi and quickly covered himself. They had a long talk, and Eren finally opened up to his boyfriend, telling him that he has physical dysphoria and explaining that he is very uncomfortable with his own body, even to the point of hating it. He told him that some days are worse than others. That was one of those days.

Levi comes back from work on a Friday and finds Eren curled up on the couch, with his legs tucked against his chest, face hidden against his knees, and arms wrapped around his head to cover his face. Eren’s favorite blanket, a gift from Levi, is draped around his shoulders, the ends folding on top of each other. Eren cries as quietly as he can, pulling away slightly to wipe away his tears every once in awhile with his long sleeves. He sniffles,frowns deeply, and hides his face again.

Levi sighs,puts down his bag, and rushes over to Eren. He climbs on the couch with him and wraps his arms around him, to pull him against his chest. Eren immediately returns the embrace and clings onto Levi, pressing his face into his shoulder. He lets out a choked sob and cries, his tears staining Levi’s shirt with small blotches.

Levi rocks their bodies back and forth gently and rubs Eren’s back as he holds him. He whispers reassuring words in his ear, things he wouldn’t say to anyone else. Levi moves his other hand up to Eren’s hair and runs his fingers through the soft strands. He showers his neck in affectionate kisses, pressing his lips against Eren’s tan skin.

He keeps holding Eren for as long as he needs to. This time their intimate embrace lasts about an hour. Eren finally pulls his face away so Levi can look at him. Levi reaches forward to cup his face and gently wipe away the tears on Eren’s cheeks with his thumb. 

“It’s pretty bad today huh?” he asks. Eren nods and sniffles, hiding his face again.

“I just...I hate my chest so much” he whimpers “It shouldn’t be there..! I’m not-...I shouldn’t look like this!” he grips onto Levi.

“I’m sorry Eren... that you have to go through this...” he sighs “It’s mainly your chest, right?” 

Eren nods and looks down at his torso, his tight binder putting a constant pressure on his chest in order to keep it flat.

“Well... have you ever thought about surgery?” he asks.

Eren looks up at Levi again and nods. “Of course...I’ve been thinking and wanted that for as long as I can remember but...I don’t have enough money to pay for it. Plus, I just got that job at the restaurant... and if I take time off for the surgery and recovery, they might fire me and just get some other desperate, unemployed person instead.” he explains.

Levi nods and doesn't respond for a while. He mulls over the situation, considering all the options, before responding: “I’ll pay for half of the surgery if you can come up with the other half... and I’ll talk to the restaurant owner, I know him after all” he adds, mumbling. He’s sure that Erwin won’t object once he hears the situation. 

Eren looks up at him with wide eyes, tears still rolling down his cheeks, although now, a small smile is spreading over his face “Y-you...you would do that for me?” he chokes out. Levi smiles reassuringly and nods.

“Of course I would. It’s not that much money, and I care about you, Eren.” he replies.

Eren grins and squeaks happily, throwing his arms around Levi and hugging him tightly. Levi chuckles and returns the embrace, he pulls Eren onto his lap and threads his hand through his hair, running his fingers through the thick, tangled strands.

“At some point we need to research the different options and stuff,” Eren murmurs against Levi’s shoulder. The older man nods and reaches his arm around, grabs the television remote,turns on the television, and flips to Eren’s favorite show. Eren smiles and cuddles against Levi, shifting around to see the screen better.

They watch TV and movies for the rest of the evening, Levi cuddling Eren and comforting him, showering his face with sweet kisses. Eren falls asleep after a while, his body curling up on Levi’s lap.

_____________________________________________________

 

During the weekend, Eren and Levi spend most of their time together on the couch with one laptop between them. They consumed hours researching and finding the right surgeon to conduct Eren’s operation. Eren sighs and leans against the couch looking down at the computer screen. 

“So we’re going with Dr. Martin right?” he asks. Levi responds with a nod and looks through the doctor’s profile on her website, scanning the page quickly.

“Yeah, she offers good prices, and her offices are close by too... I’ll email her and schedule an appointment.” Levi opens a new tab and starts writing said email. Meanwhile, Eren leans against Levi and rests his head on top of his shoulder.

“How much will it cost again?” he asks. Levi goes back to her website and goes through a couple of hyperlinks to find the costs.

“Well... it says here, depending on the procedure, it’ll be between $4,100 and $6,500.” he says. 

Eren frowns and glances up at Levi.

“Are you sure that you want to pay for half of that... it’ll be at least $2,000...” he says hesitantly. 

Levi nods and kisses Eren’s forehead sweetly. “I’m sure...I’ve been saving up for a while now and you need this, you really do.” 

Eren smiles and nods, he wraps his arms around Levi and presses his face against his chest.

“Thank you...” he mumbles as Levi finishes up the email and sends it. Levi then closes his laptop and lovingly wraps his arm around Eren.

_____________________________________________________

 

Levi leans against the doorframe of Erwin’s office and sighs, waiting for him to finish sorting out through some paperwork. Once he’s done, the blonde looks up at Levi and leans back in his chair.

“So... what brings you here Levi?” he asks, watching him carefully.

The smaller man shrugs a bit and looks down at him. “Why does something have to bring me here? Can’t I just stop by to say hello to an old friend?” 

Erwin snorts and shakes his head. “You know as well as I do that whenever you visit like this it’s because you want something... so, what is it?”

Levi sighs and pulls a stray chair closer, he sits down and crosses his legs, taking a moment before replying.

“You know Eren and I are dating right?” Erwin nods silently in reply. Levi continues. “Well I’d like to ask you to do me a favor... I need you to give him two weeks off from work.”

Erwin snorts at that and leans forward. “And why should I do that?”

Levi looks around a bit and hesitates. He’s sure his friend will be accepting of Eren’s identity but he doesn’t want to out him unless it’s absolutely necessary.

“Well...He’s getting surgery soon.” Erwin’s eyes widen at that, and Levi presses on. “He needs at least two weeks to recover from it”

“Alright... what kind of surgery?” he asks. “I have to know if it’s a necessary surgery.”

Levi bites the inside of his cheek, he knew this would end up happening. He takes a deep breath before replying.

“Well... Eren is transgender.” 

Erwin inhales sharply and looks at him with wide eyes “You mean he’s... she--”

“No. He’s boy that was assigned female at birth, so male pronouns okay?”

Erwin nods hesitantly, taking a moment to process it all.

Levi speaks up again and explains. “He’s getting top surgery... so he’s getting his breasts removed... it’s not technically a ‘necessary’ surgery, but I believe it’s important for his mental and emotional health.”

Erwin nods and leans back. He looks up at the ceiling and remains silent for about half a minute, before looking back at Levi. Although Erwin doesn’t fully understand transgender health or the need for this surgery, he notices a serious and practically desperate look in Levi’s eyes he rarely even sees. 

“...alright. I’ll give him two and half weeks off.” he says firmly, pulling up a spreadsheet on his computer and noting it down. “Just let me know when.”

Levi grins and sighs in relief, knowing they were one step closer to getting Eren the surgery he needs.

_____________________________________________________

 

Levi gets to witness Eren’s raw determination over the next couple of months to come up with the money he needs to pay for half of the cost. Eren ends up working two jobs: his usual one at the restaurant, and another at a local bookstore… and not to mention another part-time job at a small fast food place. Most nights Eren gets no more than four hours of sleep. He works so intensely that he barely remembers to eat: most of the time Levi has to prepare his meals for him, but he doesn’t really mind. 

After a few weeks Levi notices how worn down Eren looks and urges him to tone it down, explaining to him that he’ll eventually come up with the money but that it’ll only take a little bit longer if he works less. Eren responds by telling him that he’s working this hard because he doesn’t know how long he can go on with his chest the way it is. Levi becomes silent at that and drops the subject, before going off to make Eren dinner. Eren’s passed out on the couch by the time he’s done cooking his meal.

Levi sighs and puts the plate in the fridge for later. He walks over to Eren, picks him up, brings him to the bedroom, gently settles him down, and covers him with the thin blanket. He gently runs his fingers through his hair in a comforting, familiar gesture and leans forward to kiss Eren’s forehead.

“Goodnight sweetheart,” he whispers, before turning off the lights and leaving the room.

Once Eren manages to come up with two thousand, five hundred dollars, Levi schedules a final appointment with Dr. Martin to review everything. However, Levi isn’t able to come with Eren because of work.

He comes home in the evening and finds Eren curled up on the couch with a glass of orange juice in hand, the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Levi hangs his coat on the hanger,takes off his shoes, puts his keys in the small bowl near the door, sits next to Eren, and wraps his arm around the other’s shoulder.

“So how did it go?” he asks.

Eren looks at him and smiles, resting his head against Levi’s shoulder.

“It went well... we just went over the procedure. It’s going to be periareolar procedure and everything is paid for... I made the appointment for next week because it’s the earliest they could have me.”

Levi grins and holds Eren close. “That’s wonderful,” he replies.

The brunet nods, scoots over onto his lap, and leans his head against Levi’s chest.

“...I’m nervous,” the younger male whispers. Levi nods in understanding and gently rubs his back soothingly.

“Everything will turn out fine... Dr. Martin is an expert.”

Eren nods a bit, then sighs in frustration.

“I know, but... I can’t help feeling scared... getting top surgery is a scary thing…” Eren pauses, then looks back up at Levi.”...but in the end, I’ll be happier.” Levi nods silently as he tightens his arms around Eren and curls his body around his lover’s protectively. 

_____________________________________________________

 

The day comes sooner than either of them had expected. When Levi wakes up he rolls over and is faced with an Eren grinning from ear to ear. Levi smiles in return and wraps his arm around his waist, resting his hand on his hip.

“Are you excited?”

Eren nods a few times and explains with that large grin, “Yeah! Today’s the day!”

Levi nods and leans forward, kissing his nose and eliciting a cute giggle from Eren. They stay there for a bit longer before Levi rolls out of bed and to get changed. While Levi goes to make the both of them breakfast,Eren gets up and changes to get himself ready for the day ahead.

A few moments later, Eren yawns loudly and stretches out his long limbs as he walks into the dining room. He glances at Levi and smiles when he sees him set down two plates of bacon and eggs on the table. Eren sits down and pours himself some orange juice before starting his meal.

Levi sits across from him and eats as well, glancing at Eren every once in awhile and frowning slightly when he notices Eren’s hands trembling and his leg bouncing nervously. He sighs and puts down his cutlery before reaching forward and taking Eren’s hand into his.

Eren gasps softly and looks up at him with wide eyes, then relaxes a bit when he sees his boyfriend gentle smile.“It’ll be okay,” Levi reassures him, giving his lover’s hand a firm and comforting squeeze.

Eren sighs shakily and nods. He returns the squeeze before pulling his hand away so he can finish up his food.

“I know...” he whispers. “I just can’t help feel a bit nervous.”

Levi nods a bit and keeps eating, both of them enjoying a peaceful and silent breakfast together. Once they’re done Levi cleans up the table and does the dishes. They get ready and head out of the door together, hand in hand.

_____________________________________________________

 

Once they arrive at the hospital everything seems to go by very quickly. Eren is brought onto a stretcher and has to wait for a while in the room they assigned to him. Once Dr. Martin and her assistant come in, Levi gets up and greets them.

Dr. Martin smiles at the both of them. “Mr. Jaeger’s surgery will probably take a few hours, so you can either wait in the waiting room or here if you want.” Levi nods a bit before she continues: “He’ll have to stay overnight so we can make sure everything is going smoothly.” 

Levi smiles and nods again, before waving goodbye to Eren as they wheel him out of the room and down the hallway. 

Levi lets out a shaky sigh and sits down. He spends most of the time waiting worrying over Eren, and tries to distract himself by playing games on his phone... but it doesn’t seem to work that well.

Just like Dr. Martin said the surgery is done in about four hours. When Levi hears the door open he jolts up and sits straight up in his chair, eyes watching as a nurse wheels Eren in back on the stretcher.

The nurse smiles at him and says in a reassuring voice, “Everything went fine, he should be awake in a bit.”

Levi relaxes immediately and smiles in thanks as he watches her and another nurse lift Eren up off the stretcher to set him down on the bed. They cover him with a thin blanket,put the IV back into his forearm, and check all his vitals before leaving the room.

Levi pulls his chair closer to his bed and takes his hand, lacing their fingers together and squeezing his limp hand. He looks down at Eren, glancing down at the compression wrap around his flat chest. He smiles softly and reaches out to brush a strand of hair out of Eren’s face.

Levi stays like this until he sees Eren’s eyes flutter open weakly; he smiles softly and squeezes his hand again.

“Hey babe, how you feeling?” he asks softly.

Eren giggles a bit. “So good...” he mutters, still loopy from the painkillers and other drugs he’s on.

Levi smirks a bit and watches as Eren looks down at his chest, he grins and snorts a bit.

“They’re gone” Eren says as he runs his hand over the compression wrap “I hope they don’t miss me.”

Levi laughs and shakes his head. “I’m sure they won’t... they’ll be glad you’re finally happy with your chest.” He leans forward and kisses Eren’s forehead gently. 

Eren giggles again and nods. “Thank you Levi... I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you...” he whispers as his eyelids start to droop. Levi squeezes his hand and sighs happily, feeling his heart swell.

“I love you, brat,” he says softly as he watches Eren’s eyes close. The younger male quickly falls back asleep.

Levi stays with him in the hospital until he’s discharged and allowed to go home.

_____________________________________________________

 

After a week of not showering and keep the compression wrap around his chest to make sure his skin sets properly and heals well, he finally gets to take it off. Eren stands in front of Levi, who’s sitting on their bed, and takes a deep breath. He undoes the clips at the side of the and slowly unwinds it, before letting the whole thing fall to the floor to reveal his chest. Eren breathes deeply and smiles slightly as he feels his chest expand.

He looks down at his chest and grins when he sees it’s totally flat. Eren gently runs his hands over his breast tissue and shivers slightly at the touch, the skin still very sensitive. Eren then runs his fingertip over the curved scars about two inches under his nipples. He looks up at Levi, his eyes watering over. 

“I...I’m flat” he manages to choke out.

Levi nods a bit and grins up at him, glad that Eren’s happy. He starts to reach out, but then pulls his hand back. 

“Can I touch?” he asks cautiously. Eren nods and smiles reassuringly, he lets his arms fall to his side as Levi reaches out his hands again.

He’s very gentle as he touches Eren’s chest, first running his fingers over his boyfriend’s scars before moving up up. He grazes over Eren’s nipples, and smirks when he hears him gasp sharply. 

Eren looks away and blushes deeply.

“Ah... I’m still really sensitive...” he mutters.

Levi grins and shakes his head “I don’t mind” he purrs as he grips Eren’s hips and pulls him onto his lap. Eren lets out another soft gasp and immediately wraps his arms around Levi’s neck. He leans forward and meets Levi halfway before they’re lips press together.

Eren smiles and hums into the kiss, tilting his head and moving his lips against Levi’s while he drags his fingers up to thread through his hair. He tugs on the strands lightly, then pulls back after a moment.

Eren presses their foreheads together and looks deep into Levi’s eyes. 

“I love you,” he whispers quietly. 

Levi grins and affectionately pecks his lips. 

“I love you too,” he mutters as he pulls him close. Levi wraps his arms around him and lets Eren rest his head against his shoulder as they enjoy the peaceful moment together. Levi’s content knowing Eren won’t end up curled up on the couch and crying at the end of the day like he used to.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this fic, I told a few people (SugarSnax and addyliciousyaoi) that I would write another fic in the universe from Levi's Café and I finally pulled through (even though it did take me a few months longer than it should have)
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy my fic! Please leave kudos and a comment if you have any suggestions for future fics or advice on how to improve my writing.


End file.
